Apple doesn't want to let customers return to BlackBerry easily

Alright. Yes, I was being a bit hyperbolic with that headline but there is a real issue that exists in iMessage that has been causing problems for a lot of users looking to switch away from iOS devices.

With many folks either returning to BlackBerry or picking up a BlackBerry 10 device for the first time, we've seen an increased amount of emails come in to the CrackBerry inbox concerning the problem so we figured we'd help spread the word.

So what is the issue? And what's the fix for it? Well, since it came into us via CrackBerry help line, jump below and check out the email from Matt which outlines it all and how to go about making sure it doesn't affect you.

Hey Kevin, I've been a BB user for the past 10 years and love the platform. Because I was bored with my 9930, I got an iPhone 5 just because. However, when I got my Q10 from Verizon on Monday, I noticed something really weird was happening - I wasn't receiving any texts from people with iPhones. After thinking a ton and researching I finally figured out what was happening. Because iMessages are transferred through Apple's servers, everyone's cell phone numbers are stored there so iPhones can decide whether to send a texts as an SMS or iMessage.

Because my number used to be registered as an iMessage number, the servers hadn't cleared me out yet and as of today, four days later, it still hasn't been removed. I called an Apple store and they said they can't remove me from the servers and Verizon didn't even know that this was what was causing the issue but the tech support rep said they've been inundated with people who've bought BB10 devices, among others, who are experiencing the issue.

Anyway, I wanted to shoot this over to you because I hadn't seen anything in the forums and wanted to bring it to your attention. I could see this being HUGE lawsuit material, especially for people like me who just returned a Q10 (I still have my Z10 as a backup) because of the issue...especially in the middle of a BB comeback.

Having had this issue myself and knowing Kevin also dealt with this, I can assure you there is a fix for it. It's actually quite a simple one in fact. Over at iMore they highlighted it and wrote up a good tutorial on it, so if you or anyone else is experiencing it, here's a fix.

Follow these steps

That's it! A fairly easy fix but a bit bothersome that one still has to worry about it. Now unlike Matt, we wouldn't go so far as to say it's a huge lawsuit issue but it is indeed a bit concerning that folks who are supposed to know how to address this, seemingly don't and because of that, it's causing some returns on BlackBerry devices. That's not really cool at all. Have you or anyone you know been hit by this bug?

I've switched off iMessage...but still not getting group SMS from iPhone users after a week. When I complained to Apple they said it takes up to 45 days to expunge your records from the Apple system. When I asked what was I supposed to do for 45 days without getting group messages, Apple said to notify everyone in my contacts to delete my contact and create a new one and that might do the trick... Not acceptable!

I will never ever buy any of their products. (its not that i can't afford)... half of your iPhone is being controled by apple. my mom was complaining about the iPhone. Lol... she now wants to have a my z10 hahhaahahahhaha

This issue is not platform specific. I experienced it when I switched from iPhone to Windows Phone 8 as well. (That was before I fell in love with BlackBerry. It was a torrid yet brief affair that my Z10 doesn't hold against me).

Honestly, I didn't have this issue when I switched from icraPhone 4 to Z10, but when I wanted to delete my apple account, I discovered that you can't in no way online and even worse, the genius boy told me that MY apple ID doesn't belong to me, it's Apple own property... so the question is: do I own an iPhone or do they own me??? sadly, the latter applies...! never again crApple never ever ever!!!

Also for some folks with the message issues it depends on how the numbers were saved. For whatever reason I had to go remove the () for those people in my contacts that have iPhones to receive messages from my Z10. Simple enough fix...

Turn off iMessage and FaceTime before you lay down your iPhone. You can always connect to Wi-Fi and do the same if you forgot to before moving over. That will automatically deregister it from the glorified SMS servers.

I can see how a company would make it difficult for customers to basically end there ties with them, however it can make people even angrier with them. On that note, It's hard to see that anyone who bought their BlackBerry devices and experienced this issue would go back to Apple. That being said I don't think this would have any effect on BlackBerry returns.

This is old news. Essentially if you do not turn off iMessage on the device before transferring to a non-iPhone device, or unregister the device from the account, other iPhones will continually try to send iMessage. However, I do not know why this is brought up as a huge deal because the majority of iPhone users have the "Send as SMS" option on, which means that if the iMessage fails to send it will automatically send as a text message.

If you do not do any of the two things above, it takes about two weeks to one month for it to clear out of Apple's servers. The reason it clears from Apple's servers because it detects a long period of inactivity from the phone's iMessage.

In the settings of your iphone/ipod you can physically turn off imessage. I can't remember the exact location, but it's as simple as finding the setting and flipping the little switch from 'on' to 'off' fixed the problem for me in seconds!

the more easy way is to do the following steps BEFORE you remove your sim-card from your iphone (I did it a couple of days before I purchased my Q10).
On your iPhone:
- go to settings
- go to text messages (the little green icon with a speech bubble in it)
- deactivate iMessage
done!
After I did this, all other iPhone users had to send me regular text messages, the option for iMessages were gone.

Ya'll know what...? I am so sick of Apple and Apple products that at this point You couldn't melt one down and pour it on me. I have never understood why Apple has to monopolize the Smartphone market. I, however, do understand that there are a lot of people out there who simply buy into the hype. Or they get an iPhone "just because" it's the most hyped up thing out there and even though they have no plans to do anything with it - when someone asks them what kind of phone they have - they can say "I have an iPhone". Whatever...!

I fell out with Apple back when they began removing things like disc drives from their computers and then requiring you to buy one - if you wanted to use one. Their headphones and power cords are extremely poorly constructed - requiring you to keep buying these items over and over again. I do own an iPod
Touch and an iPad, but I only use them for storing music and playing games. The iPhone I own - I got for my 7 year old granddaughter so she could play games on it - and it only cost me a a penny.

I have noticed that Apple is doing its' perpetual "over-kill" with the introduction of its new OS. I have given this some thought. And this is my take on that. You mean to tell me that after NO real innovations after the introduction of the iPhone - now - here they come with what's supposed to be BETTER LOOKING SCREEN ICONS and several other things that nobody is really gonna notice without them pointing those things out to us over and over and over again. Please - give me a break!

I am amazed that the iPhone finally has a Microsoft Office app. After all these years. BlackBerry has had that forever. So - to that one thing - to Apple - I say "Here-Here!" I can also point out that you didn't have to steal it like you did most things you decided to put on your phone after everybody else already had it.

I am so glad that the USA is not the only place where BlackBerry is promoted and sold. I have to admit - I love BlackBerry with all my heart. And I plan to have a BlackBerry as long as BlackBerry exists. Should BlackBerry ever cease to exist (heaven forbid it). I will have to go on over to the dark side via the Samsung Galaxy line of smartphones. I will never own an Apple anything for any purposes other than to play games and listen to music - oh - and give it to the children to throw around.

And, by the way - doing something to interfere with text messaging between the iPhone and BlackBerry - I wouldn't put it past Apple to do this. It's what they do best.

I love you guys, I've been having a problem sending my wife pictures from my Z10 for some time now and I couldn't figure out why. I tried this tip and WALA, it's working now. The number on my Z10 was once on my 3G Verizon iPad. I can't believe that it was that simple...

Awesome! Thanks for this a lot of people have been asking about this in stores and I have seen A LOT of people switching from iPhone to BlackBerry the last few months. Hate to say it but this is so typically Apple. BlackBerry is winning a lot of people back and I love to see it!

So it's an Apple issue and most people that experience this problem will be quick to blame BlackBerry, WP8 or Android. This is one more example to them that their iphones were better and just worked. Apple knows what's going on, why would they want to fix this on their own?

This is bad... maybe Apple's intention is to ensure user got a backup somewhere for text messages they received on their iphone but certainly, the whole thing should have been put upfront and some in the device should have warn users of such cases. Really left a bad taste in the mouth. Thanks for highlighting as well.

Truth be told before BBIDs we used to have issues with BB devices when people would forget, or neglect to clear their PIN from the RIm BIS, and it would result in a problem for the new owner of their old BB. Fortunately BB went to a new system of BBIDs which alleviated the problem. :)

Since most people seem to be diehard bbry the only exposure to apple they get is from crackberry. The articles need to be written factually because all it does is rile these people up under false pretenses. This isn't bbry vs apple.

Switched from an iPhone 4 to the Q10 and havent had any problems switching over. However I also have an iPad and when i turn on iMessage, I have a tendency of forgetting to turn it off when I'm done using it. This is where the problem lies I'm assuming.

Man, what an interesting issue. I popped my BB SIM into a 3GS a long time ago and then had issues with SMSs from iPhone friends when I put it back in my BB. They also said their phone was trying to send me an iMessage. The issue eventually went away, but good to know about this "fix". Very interesting.

So that maybe the cause of my problem too! I'm using the sim that I used for my iMassage on an iPhone device and now using it on my BlackBerry. Do I have to return my sim card to my iPhone device before unregistering?

I'm turned off imessages before wiping my iPhone 5, as well as registering on apples website as described above. When people with iPhones try to message me, it is still sending as an imessage and I am not receiving it.

I've been hearing a lot in theses comments ppl who have switched from the iphone5 to the BB z10 or q10 which is awesome. Just curious to know if these ppl are from Canada, U.S or both and if they were previous BlackBerry users before or completely new users and what was the reason that made them interested in switching.

Is this an issue in the US only, my wife switches back and forth on a regular basis, and has never had an issue. She loves her Z10, but refuses to use it on a consistent basis until she finds a case she likes lol.

It seems to me the NSA could take the date given to them by apple (phone numbers matched with accounts and phones) cross reference it with the "anonymous" phone records they got from Verizon and now it is no longer anonymous. I recall Google kept asking me to associate my phone number with my account also.

this issue happens a lot a solution to this issue would be to put back the sim in the Iphone go into the settings under messages and have the service switched from the phone number to an email address or completely turn off imessage service it might take some time but eventually it will work.

This same thing happened to my wife. We handed down her iPhone 4 to my son, and someone had texted to my wife but it came through to iMessage on her old phone (which has no service, just wifi now). She actually blocks regular text messages normally anyway, so it's not a major deal for her because she wouldn't normally get the message anyway.

It's called the walled garden for a reason and not because it kept things out. You were never meant to get out that easily. The entire Apple ecosystem is built to integrate/assimilate you into an Apple existence, like the Borg. It's the main reason I never wanted an iPhone or Apple anything - too many proprietary shackles. I'm surprised iMessage is the only problem. Lucky for those who only have a charging cable; it'd be the only useless thing you have when upgrading to BB10. At least, if you're coming from Android, WP8, or even older BB, you can still use your USB cord.

But, that's just an example of how proprietary technology can keep people chained to some products. Apple knows what they are doing. And, I always knew what they were doing. I haven't had much respect for Apple for this kind of business practice. It's sad that people automatically blame Blackberry for something that's not even in their control.

I had this same problem when I switched from iPhone 5 to the Incredible Z10, now I have the Q10. It was frustrating at first but after a quick wipe on the iPhone and updating my contact info on my phone book app on my Mac it was fixed. I will follow these steps just to be safe. Thanks Blaze.

We all know this falls right in line with Apple's business practices. Speaking of, remember how we had to wait for the bold from ATT until after the new iPhone came out? Anyone else think we won't see the 10.1 update until after we see the newest iPhone? I wonder how much Apple pays ATT for that?

Best way to avoid the delay is to simply turn off iMessage on the iPhone before switching devices (and thus de-registering your number from the service). Otherwise how is it supposed to know?

I think they have the large timeout to avoid sending sms as a lot of people don't have unlimited texting (globally) or to avoid international charges...I had that happen a few times messaging a friend overseas when he didn't have data coverage for a while and it eventually sent as sms costing me $0.25 a pop. I turned that off lol as there's an option to send as sms manually should the need arise.

If you forgot to unsubscribe your number from the service, as described above, and no longer have access to the device the system will automatically remove your number after a certain amount of time or number of undeliverable messages...or using the website as described in the article (I didn't know about that one!)

When I had an android, I dabbled with imessage and the same thing happened to me. My dad (who uses iPhone) texted me and my droid never received it. It went to my old iphone's imessage. I just went into the settings and turned imessage off and all has been fine. It was all on the same number, if that wasn't understood right away lol

Guys you can fix the issue simply by going into your iPhone settings > messages > imessages and turn it off.
imessage is essentially a wifi chat therefore if you don't turn it off and your iPhone has wifi or Internet somehow it's going to try and send it to imessage because the phone identification is the same.

And my point is let's solve the problem instead of presenting more reasons why people shouldn't bother with a blackberry cause of all the complaints about how it's a hassle to turn off imessage. If you want people to try a product, solve their problems and present them with the advantages, not make it seem like a hassle.

Fucking apple POS. No wonder I got this one girl who dropped apple Like the outdated POS it is and she was having thus exact same problem. Of course she would not go back to her outdated icrap but it was annoying for her.

I think the issue is not whether or not there is an easy fix, its the fact that Apple doesn't just switch it off for customers...I am pretty sure that they all know pretty much the instant we stop using a phone and start using another one...it should just be automatic.

People would have a real issue if they switched from AT&T to VERIZON and AT&T tied up the transfer by making the customer log in somewhere and manually switch services...in today's technologically advanced world there is no excuse for this...

Turning on my iPhone and switching off iMessage in thé settings fixed it for me. Even simpler. However, if you no longer have your iPhone, this wouldn't be possible.

Bit of a pain in the ass really and whilst it works well for apple, I shouldn't think they intended it. For the non tech-savvy, it's certainly something that staff in stores or at tech support should be telling customers when they are switching!

It really shouldn't... The user has to TURN ON iMessage and they should turn it OFF before getting rid of the iPhone. Users do need to wipe their iPhones on occasion and any time they upgrade the iPhone via iTunes it gets wiped just prior to upgrade and restore. If iMessage were automatically turned off then it's very possible that messages could get lost while the phone is experiencing down time. I'd rather have them safely stored on the server than disrupt a valid service.

This is ridiculous and should be brought up to a regulatory compliance committee or whatever enforcement agencies there are. Why? Because of the unfair practice or competition it creates, and because it restricts your options asa consumer.

What I mean by that is that a manufacturer shouldn't have control over your phone number anymore than the carriers do. Does anyone remember the days when if you tried to switch carriers you would lose your phone number?

Your phone number is not proprietary, and if Apple can't make it easy for people to switch, then they shouldn't be using it to power their services. Carriers don't because they are enforced not to, and this is something that needs to be fixed or enforced.

You don't even have to disassociate the number most of the time, though. it's a switch in settings. Going to a regulatory board instead of turning off a switch? I've gone back and forth I don't know how many times between my BB, iPhone and Android phones and never had to disassociate a number, I turned off I message on my iPhone. I think the title was a bit unnecessary because all nuts done is start the pitchforks.

Seriously how much more uncomplicated can you get than a switch in settings?

If you want to talk about not making it easy for users to switch, go after Google and Gmail server changes for non android phones so contacts and calendars don't always sync

Same thing happened to me after switching form my iPhone 5 to my Z10. After about two text messages that didn't come through I immediatley thought of iMessage. So my workaround was to simply go to settings---> messages and turn OFF iMessage. Once I did that I started receiving all of my texts to my Z10.

What about if the user only has an iPod? I have a friend who had a Blackberry Curve, upgraded to a Z10 and cannot receive SMS messages from iPhone users. She never had an iPhone, but has an iPod Touch with her email address and phone number associated with her AppleID. I have logged her out of iMessage and FaceTime, but her phone number still appears blue in my iPod Touch as if to say I can still iMessage her. Sorry, not totally familiar with iOS and iMessage shenanigans and what the blue is supposed to represent.

So far as I am aware you MUST use an iPhone to register a phone number with iMessage (only then can it be used on other devices such as iPod, iPad, or Mac) so I'm baffled how the phone number even got there in the first place.

If it's still an issue go into Messages in the settings, receive at, and uncheck the phone number.

The problem is that there is an easy fix for it, but Apple willfully ignores deactivating a device during a wipe. If someone is wiping their device, it is probably because they don't intend to use it anymore. At this point, deactivation of iMessages should occur so that your friends that also use iMessage won't see that your number is still registered with iMessage and spend days trying to send a message to a phone that isn't on anymore.

Its shady. Apple clearly wants people to use their devices, so I wouldn't put it past them that they make it a headache so that confused customers return to the iPhone because their new phone can't text properly.

Why would a BlackBerry fan site use a misleading headline hmm almost like it's in there best interest...
It's funny how people on this site are surprised/angry when they detect a BlackBerry bias. It's a BlackBerry fan site, what do you expect?

This explains so much! My friend switched from iphone to galaxy S3 and said he wasn't getting all his text messages! I thought it might be only imessage users but couldn't confirm that..... Nice to know the cause!

I guess it's both one of the good thing and bad things about iMessage. Tying SMS/iMessage into one app experience and trying to make it transparent to the user can be viewed as a good thing... there's a simplicity to it. But that transparency can also be a bad thing, per this example. Personally, I like having my instant messaging client (aka BBM), separate from SMS.

My guess, as stated above, is that Apple contacts their server first, but instead of making three attempts to send through iMessage, it'll spend nearly five minutes trying to do that before -failing- to send as SMS. Sadly, Apple chooses not to deregister iMessage on a device wipe. Is that an oversight or a way to confuse the costumers and to train them into thinking that your fancy new Android just sucks at texting? That's *grasping at straws*, but the fact that Apple's mechanism for sending iMessages/SMS is clearly a client-side issue/server-side issue, and not with, let's say VZW or AT&T, is shady.

What makes BB10 so great is the hub: you can have SMS, BBM, e-mails, and more in one spot, so you can have separate apps for everything yet have a single app to integrate them all for your convenience, and it eliminates any shady business tactics (that I'm aware of).

Seriously? Yes that is a huge issue, did you wipe the device, and put in her sim card? But that particular iPhone was still registered to your account so everything still was sent to that device regardless of the current active apple ID? Scary... :s

A lot of iphone users have it set to imessage only, so texts to non-iphones won't go through. I had to tell several people to change their setting to imessage and sms (instead of just imessage) when I switched back to BB.

Is that what I have to do? I have a friend with an iPhone sending out group texts about a Spartan Race we're all running in and they don't come to me as texts, they show up in my email from her phone number. It's really weird. Hers is the only iPhone that does this to me.

Yes, it happened to my cousin Iphone too. When he text me from his Iphone to my Z10 BlackBerry it goes into my email instead. So far this last week or so, it seems to deliver the text message correctly.

This is a perfect example of why I will never buy any apple product. Once they sink their teeth into you in any way they make it as difficult as they can for you to leave. Having said that I must give credit where credit is due, this is a brilliant strategy on their part.

I used to have an iPhone (4) before switching to the Z10. I put the old SIM from the iPhone into the Z10 and have been receiving all texts; or at least I have not had anyone tell me that they have sent me a text which I have not then received. However, I kept the iPhone and gave it to my daughter - she obviously has her own SIM in there. Again, seemingly no problems. Is this perhaps an intermittent issue or is my situation different from the one outlined above? I presume that since I am not experiencing any issues I do not need to do the above as otherwise un-registering it may cause problems for my daughter?

This is an issue with any device when you make a switch from an iPhone. Even if your contacts were to SMS you and it went through as an imessage, the servers should realize the imessage never made it and it'll resend it as a SMS. Thats atleast what it did for me :/

The problem is that the person from which the SMS is being sent is still trying to contact the server. It makes perfect sense that they take their sweet time because what if someone has their phone off or just doesn't have service?

The problem is that the timeout for iMessage is insanely HIGH, so it tries for 5 minutes before even attempting SMS. It's silly.

The fault is entirely with APPLE. If you wipe a phone, it SHOULD remove you from iMessage. It is not a bug; it is probably an oversight or worse, a feature...

I see why they are doing it, though I wonder if it could be considered anticompetitive since they are disrupting an "open" service?

As an aside, I often have my Z10 and PlayBook asking for I Cloud passwords. Also suspect this is an Apple thing to discourage non-Apple devices from using
ICloud but not anticompetitive since it is Apple's service...

"Alright. Yes, I was being a bit hyperbolic with that headline but there is a real issue that exists in iMessage that has been causing problems for a lot of users looking to switch away from iOS devices."

this is a BlackBerry forum so obviously they are goign to put BlackBerry in the heading. i told my sister before this article ever came out when she went from an iPhone to Note 2 that she might have issues gettign texts from her iPhone friends since it'll be trying to send an iMessage rather then and actual text

This ALWAYS happens to my iPhone 5 friends. They constantly never receive text msgs or have them go through to their friends on both bb and android. iMessage uber fail if you ask me thats why I stick to bbm or whatsapp or sometimes even fb msgs.

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